Kitz Forum
Broadband Related => FTTC and FTTP Issues => Topic started by: roseway on March 24, 2014, 03:10:07 PM
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A shiny new Huawei cabinet has popped up a few metres from the cabinet I'm connected to. We're in the upgrade area covered by Kent County Council / BDUK, and according to the program the upgrading is supposed to start between April and September 2014. So it looks as though they've started slightly early, although I realise it can be many months before the service will be available.
I've paced out the distance from my home, and it's 240 paces (~200 metres), and there's little doubt that the wires travel straight along the road, so I have hopes of a respectable speed.
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Would you like me to arrange for Walter's Wheelbarrow to be trundled over the county border and to make some preliminary investigations of the infrastructure? ;)
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Just looked at the KCC maps and am surprised by the large areas which will be left out.
BTW + OT my early married life (67-78) was in TN12 post code area.
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I can confirm from your picture that hedge in the background is whats called a Privet with some Ivy mixed into it at the bottom level, I would need closer look from one of your sample to confirm this, it's been well cut and has a nice straight up & down line :D
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b*cat is unsure of what he thinks he can see in that image and wonders if there are three JBFs directly in front of that Huawei 288 cabinet? :-\
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Would you like me to arrange for Walter's Wheelbarrow to be trundled over the county border and to make some preliminary investigations of the infrastructure? ;)
Thank you for the offer, but I think Walter is probably rather busy already. ;D
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I can confirm from your picture that hedge in the background is whats called a Privet with some Ivy mixed into it at the bottom level, I would need closer look from one of your sample to confirm this, it's been well cut and has a nice straight up & down line :D
Yes, it's a very nice hedge, but I think you may have missed the central object of the picture. ;D
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b*cat is unsure of what he thinks he can see in that image and wonders if there are three JBFs directly in front of that Huawei 288 cabinet? :-\
I'm not sure about this, but I suspect that this cabinet serves quite a large number of subscribers. Is this just feline curiosity, or would you like some close-up pictures?
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b*cat is unsure of what he thinks he can see in that image and wonders if there are three JBFs directly in front of that Huawei 288 cabinet? :-\
There would never be a situation, where there were three JB23's in-situ in front of a Cab, B*Cat. Methinks these are just paving slabs, or something like ?? Just for info. :)
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Just looked at the KCC maps and am surprised by the large areas which will be left out.
It's a very rural area, and the areas in question are very thinly populated. I don't know what, if anything, can/will be done for the people in those areas.
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I'm not sure about this, but I suspect that this cabinet serves quite a large number of subscribers. Is this just feline curiosity, or would you like some close-up pictures?
No close-up pictures will be necessary, thank you. Perhaps a description of what you see, when you next pass that way, please? :)
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There would never be a situation, where there were three JB23's in-situ in front of a Cab, B*Cat. Methinks these are just paving slabs, or something like ?? Just for info. :)
b*cat bows (in Japanese style). Thank you for the official view-point on the picture. :)
The more I look at that picture, the more uncertain I become. It is almost as if there are four equally sized "doings" at that cabinet, arranged in an L shape . . . :-\
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Just looked at the KCC maps and am surprised by the large areas which will be left out.
I'm not, the current target of 90% can easily be met by focussing just on the towns and cities, leaving huge rural populations, some quite densely populated (elsewhere, if not in Kent) that have been deemed as 'not worth bothering about' in the rollout plans that the Government has allowed (/financed) BT to come up with.
Glad to hear of Roseway's promising future, though :)
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Just looked at the KCC maps and am surprised by the large areas which will be left out.
It's a very rural area, and the areas in question are very thinly populated. I don't know what, if anything, can/will be done for the people in those areas.
Well albeit in another county I'm in one of the white areas ie left out areas not in BDUK: the last 10% so called of deeply rural sparsely populated properties - Well that's what I assume a village of around 400 houses is called.
What are we the said 400 houses residents' doing about it.
Hopefully getting in Gigaclear to FTTP the lot including the voice part
Then BT can go and shove their entire aluminum cabled network locally up their corporate rectal orifice.
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Thats fantastic news eric :dance:
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A shiny new Huawei cabinet has popped up a few metres from the cabinet I'm connected to. We're in the upgrade area covered by Kent County Council / BDUK, and according to the program the upgrading is supposed to start between April and September 2014. So it looks as though they've started slightly early, although I realise it can be many months before the service will be available.
I've paced out the distance from my home, and it's 240 paces (~200 metres), and there's little doubt that the wires travel straight along the road, so I have hopes of a respectable speed.
I'm about 270M away from mine and I'm getting this still (after 2/3 months?? doesn't time fly....)
Max: Upstream rate = 36846 Kbps, Downstream rate = 107108 Kbps
Bearer: 0, Upstream rate = 20000 Kbps, Downstream rate = 79987 Kbps
It's up the road, so following the road there is one connect box half way......you should be golden ;D
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you should be golden
Closer to silver than gold. Some people call it grey. ;D
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I'm not sure about this, but I suspect that this cabinet serves quite a large number of subscribers. Is this just feline curiosity, or would you like some close-up pictures?
No close-up pictures will be necessary, thank you. Perhaps a description of what you see, when you next pass that way, please? :)
I had a close look at it this afternoon, and as BS suggested, they're just paving slabs with no apparent means of lifting them. The old cabinet a few metres away has three slabs in front of it which do have what looks like lifting holes in them.
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Hope all goes well with that, our hopes have just been dashed as our cabinet has just been updated from 31st March to 31st December 2014! >:D
The new cabinet is there and I've seen work recently. And the one at the other end of our road is live - one of my friends switched a few weeks ago.
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I'm not sure about this, but I suspect that this cabinet serves quite a large number of subscribers. Is this just feline curiosity, or would you like some close-up pictures?
No close-up pictures will be necessary, thank you. Perhaps a description of what you see, when you next pass that way, please? :)
I had a close look at it this afternoon, and as BS suggested, they're just paving slabs with no apparent means of lifting them. The old cabinet a few metres away has three slabs in front of it which do have what looks like lifting holes in them.
These 'slabs' will be the access lids to what we call the 'Cab Box'. It's basically a bloody big hole, where the cables split off from the Cab itself along the nodes to the various DP's, also it's where the incoming larger Exchange cables are 'Formed' and also where the new 'Tails' to the new FTTC Cab are cabled into.
They're dirty, smelly, awkward to 'dig out' the required cable you are working on, attract spiders, rats and sometimes gas and water ingress. Those 3 lids hide a world of pain from the general public. :lol:
To bore you even further ........... 3 lids = JF10 (Jointbox Footway 10), 2 lids = JF6 and 1 lid = JF4. There are other UG structures, but those three are by far and away the most common. :)
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Very educational, thank you. :)
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I had a close look at it this afternoon, and as BS suggested, they're just paving slabs with no apparent means of lifting them. The old cabinet a few metres away has three slabs in front of it which do have what looks like lifting holes in them.
Thank you for performing an examination and the subsequent description.
To me, without a view of the wider area, it seems a little odd that four paving slabs would be laid in an L-shape (to the left and front of the cabinet) when the cabinet appears to be sited in a grassed area. :-\
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Some Cabs on my patch are sited on grassed area's, and there are flags or concrete plinths on which to stand in front and to the side of them. The only anomaly here is that it isn't flagged down the R/H side of the DSLAM as well ??
Either way, I can't see Eric complaining to cancel or halt progress of the 'Works' ……… not now he's had a sniff of the future. ;) :lol:
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I'm not sure about this, but I suspect that this cabinet serves quite a large number of subscribers. Is this just feline curiosity, or would you like some close-up pictures?
No close-up pictures will be necessary, thank you. Perhaps a description of what you see, when you next pass that way, please? :)
I had a close look at it this afternoon, and as BS suggested, they're just paving slabs with no apparent means of lifting them. The old cabinet a few metres away has three slabs in front of it which do have what looks like lifting holes in them.
These 'slabs' will be the access lids to what we call the 'Cab Box'. It's basically a bloody big hole, where the cables split off from the Cab itself along the nodes to the various DP's, also it's where the incoming larger Exchange cables are 'Formed' and also where the new 'Tails' to the new FTTC Cab are cabled into.
They're dirty, smelly, awkward to 'dig out' the required cable you are working on, attract spiders, rats and sometimes gas and water ingress. Those 3 lids hide a world of pain from the general public. :lol:
To bore you even further ........... 3 lids = JF10 (Jointbox Footway 10), 2 lids = JF6 and 1 lid = JF4. There are other UG structures, but those three are by far and away the most common. :)
Are there any pictures of these holes anywhere?
When I was getting FTTC installed, I drove the missis MENTAL looking at cabs, etc. There are quite a few BT/GPO slabbed areas around where I live.
Always wondered what lurks beneath.....
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Not sure how this will copy over ....... ??
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Found these:
http://www.britishtelephones.com/gpo/jointbox.htm
and this
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/images/news/4440-fibre-splitter-manifold-underground.jpg
;D
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Hmmm ........... someone will probably be able to re-size it ?? ;) :)
Anyhows, the 'Lifting holes' are situated on each length of each individual cover. IE: 4 in total, so we can either use a 'Roller bar' and pull the lid in one of four directions (We always use the roller bar, and never just drag the lid ;) ;) ). Or, alternatively if the ground surface isn't suitable to use the roller, two-men can use both their lifters to lift and remove.
Hope this makes sense in the written word ??
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Nice links, door-bell. The last one gives an average representation of what lurks beneath in a JF6. Also, looks like the other inhabitants I forgot to mention are on the right of the structure ....... slugs. :-X
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I dont think Ive shown this before... but it may be of interest to someone
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Disciplinary action would be taken these days, looking at that picture. The orange 'Pocket Knife' was outlawed from use years ago !!
BT do not mess about when it comes to H&S, and there are no excuses or exceptions.
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Here is a photograph (thank you Walter) of a Ewhurstian "drain", situated in front of the PCP . . .
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Sorry to drag this old thread back, but I know you're all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for news. The news is that the exchange upgrade which was scheduled for June has now been put back to September. :( I've been closely watching roadworks.org, and several BT works have been scheduled in my road, and half of them have passed by with nothing actually happening. Now, the PCP I'm connected to is scheduled for replacement over today and the next four days, and so far nothing has happened. It's all very exciting.
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Do I detect a hint of sarcasm in you closing sentence, Eric ?? ;D ;D ;D
Proper shame when something like this happens, but at least you're not requesting the OR CEO's head on a plate (just yet). As has been mooted many times previously, for one thing or another some PCP's schedules seem to be constantly disrupted ?
Also, don't forget that divorce proceedings will follow the minute you acquire FTTC, and data-harvesting will take over your life. Ha ha, seriously, I hope you get it sooner rather than later. It really is a great product. :)
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@ Roseway,
That is a Huawei 288 cabinet but, almost certainly, will only be fitted (initially) with one 48 port line card and a single 100 pr tie cable set.
Don't be fooled by all the jumper cables being in situ as blanking plates without LEDs & extraction levers are decoys.
My guess is that your PCP probably has over 400 lines actually connected to properties; otherwise you would have been given a Huawei 128 with only two 32 port line cards fitted.
SCC has caught up with BT's delaying tactics and seemingly (according to a statement by a junior SCC servant involved) have now insisted that a second 48 way line card is fitted when the first is around 80% consumed and similarly for tie cables once 80 pairs are consumed. However I doubt that any LA has sufficient enthusiasm or knowledge to enforce that condition.
Kind regards,
Walter
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Do I detect a hint of sarcasm in you closing sentence, Eric ??
I can't imagine where you got that idea from. :o
You're right of course. I'm not blaming anyone, just looking for sympathy. :)
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Do I detect a hint of sarcasm in you closing sentence, Eric ??
I can't imagine where you got that idea from. :o
You're right of course. I'm not blaming anyone, just looking for sympathy. :)
Roseways household in my opinion should have been given top priority for FTTC install and activation as most OpenReach engineers gain a lot of knowledge from DSlstats ;D
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Thank you NS. I'm sure BS will make that point with his masters (and mistresses). :D
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Ha ha ....... if only that were true, NS ? :)
I would suggest a helluva lot of Kitizens gain knowledge from Eric and Paul's stat-harvesting programmes. Alas, I would also humbly suggest that only OR Engineers who have decided to 'crack' their own modem/hub in order to run the programmes, would acquire that same knowledge ??
Why they might do this when they have a JDSU/EXFO in their possession, I don't know ?? ;) ;D ;D
I've always commented on here that stats are not the be all and end all, and real life on-site tests also need to be carried out. But I've also come round to the fact that they are a great help (especially when REIN faulting) to get an overview of a circuits performance. Especially so since I gained access to part of the GEA tools (DLM, Rambo, RRT).
The problem with purely relying on graphical data, is the vast amount of unknowns at the time it was harvested, and issues local to that area ??
There's a million reasons as to why something un-toward may happen ....... cable change-overs, underground excavations, electrical storms, HAM enthusiasts, congestion, server issues, service outages, VPN issues, REIN, X-Talk ........ and network faults, EU mis-operation, faulty routers, faulty flters ........... the list is endless.
If one is viewing stats with the mind-set any change is to be investigated, then you end up with a Polish accent ( A joke at Konrados expense - no harm intended at all ;D).
They play a part, a big part ....... but should always ultimately be a piece of the pie, not the whole pie !! :)
That said, I too think Eric should maybe walk up to the contractors as they're installing the FTTC and say, "Do you know who I am ?? Yeah ..... well get that 80/20Meg up to my gaffe asap !!".
Gotta say though, I am excited for Eric, as I was Kitz when she was getting FTTC. :) Just need B*Cat to get it now. ;)
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Fanstastic post BS :thumbs:
I know Roseway would love to get stuck into FTTC ASP as the Internet and any large downloads becomes near instantaneous, and when I was on ADSL my heart sank when any NVidia Driver was available @ 270MB it was the case to put everything on hold for 30 minutes, and now its all done in 1.5 minutes :)
There are plenty of self FTTC installs these days for B*CAT though it seems the Infinity 1 on BT has this option and Infinity 2 still requires an Engineer to visit and install ???
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Just need B*Cat to get it now. ;)
Hmm? I do (occasionally) get fleas . . . ::)
Oh, I see. GEA using VDSL2 in the access network. It's been available to me (from BSE_P28) for some years. (The guestimator output is attached, below.) I have no need for that sort of speed -- a symmetric 5/5 would be purrfect for me. Anyway if I did have such a service (apart from insisting on doing the installation myself . . . ) I would probably spend too much time investigating the other tagged VLAN (301) to discover the innermost secrets of Beattie's back-door! ;)
Edited to add three URLs:
http://ukinfinity.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/bt-infinity-tr069-vlan-access/
http://ukinfinity.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/bgp-mpls-routers-on-infinity-tr069-network/
http://ukinfinity.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/dont-worry-there-is-no-spying-occuring/
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Things are moving. From the Where-and-When site for my postcode: "Your area is enabled for Superfast Fibre but your cabinet is not ready yet so you can’t place an order today. It is in our plans to be upgraded and we update this info weekly, so please check back later."
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I may be catching up with you.
Mine will be funded by local authority and according to their cabinet checker map, I see it has changed from 'work commencing by December' last I looked, to 'Complete by December'. I'll believe it when I see it, but I notice a new cabinet did appear recently so there is hope.
And just as a precaution, as my Demon annual agreement comes around for renewal soon, and they don't yet offer FTTC, I am now the proud owner of a Demon MAC code. ;)
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Yes, I've been thinking about leaving TalkTalk because of the probable delay before they join the FTTC party at my exchange. I've asked them for a commitment on this, and if I don't get it I'll be requesting a MAC code too.
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Yes, I've been thinking about leaving TalkTalk because of the probable delay before they join the FTTC party at my exchange. I've asked them for a commitment on this, and if I don't get it I'll be requesting a MAC code too.
Personally I'd be inclined to leave because of the upstream speed TT provide.
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Personally I'd be inclined to leave because of the upstream speed TT provide.
I see what you mean - they do an 80/20 package, but not a 40/10, only a 40/2. I think I will move.
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Personally I'd be inclined to leave because of the upstream speed TT provide.
I see what you mean - they do an 80/20 package, but not a 40/10, only a 40/2. I think I will move.
Exactly.
I have no idea of your household but 2Mbps upstream still leaves things in the "one other person can destroy the latency for others" range.
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Good luck, whatever you decide to do eric.
If it was me, in your position, I think Id be chomping at the bit to get it asap rather than wait for Sky or TT to purchase a GEA link.
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Good luck, whatever you decide to do eric.
If it was me, in your position, I think Id be chomping at the bit to get it asap rather than wait for Sky or TT to purchase a GEA link.
Thanks, and yes, I've decided. I'm going to get a MAC code. No doubt I'll have to fight my way through all their attempts to get me to stay. :(
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Inquisitiveness strikes again! :o What's in it for TalkTalk to make them cripple upstream so much?
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Its a cheaper wholesale product
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Good luck, whatever you decide to do eric.
If it was me, in your position, I think Id be chomping at the bit to get it asap rather than wait for Sky or TT to purchase a GEA link.
Thanks, and yes, I've decided. I'm going to get a MAC code. No doubt I'll have to fight my way through all their attempts to get me to stay. :(
It was easier than expected with Demon. They did insist that I had to wait for a callback from 'customer loyalty', which they said might take a couple of days, at which point I nearly argued. But I decided to play along and in fact the call came within an hour or two. I simply remained resolute, declined to get drawn into discussion of other options, and the call ended quite quickly with both parties remaining polite and dignified. The code followed a few hours later, by email. :)
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Yes, I've been thinking about leaving TalkTalk because of the probable delay before they join the FTTC party at my exchange. I've asked them for a commitment on this, and if I don't get it I'll be requesting a MAC code too.
Talktalk Hmmm, I did the online FTTC order with TT everything went through ok just waited for the email weeks passed and got fed up had to call the customer services and after 45 minutes they said sorry we can't offer you FTTC and in two weeks I got my FTTC with BT ISP that was over two years ago and still no FTTC with TalkTalk ???
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@7lm: It turned out to be easy with TT as well. I baffled the guy with science - I told him my reason for moving was so that I can get FTTC without having to wait for TT to get around to installing the GEA link, and he just laughed and said I'd lost him so he would give me the MAC without any more arguing. In the event it turns out that MACs aren't used for transfers from LLU suppliers anyway, so I needn't have bothered.
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@NewtronStar: That was another thing which concerned me as well. I've heard the occasional rumble that TT can take forever to install the GEA link in some smaller exchanges.
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It was easier than expected with Demon. They did insist that I had to wait for a callback from 'customer loyalty
My experience with demon (for a client) was even easier....They also insisted that I had to wait for a callback....it never came....mac came next day.
Ian
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@NewtronStar: That was another thing which concerned me as well. I've heard the occasional rumble that TT can take forever to install the GEA link in some smaller exchanges.
Yes the reason that was given to me by the TT customer service team why TT cannot provide FTTC to my premises, and these were the words he used "our exchange is not cost-effective" :'(
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Eric I'm interested to know if you will have to change phone numbers as well when you move?
Stuart
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Stuart, it hasn't been confirmed definitely, but I should be keeping the same number. It started life as a BT number before I transferred to TalkTalk.
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Eric I'm interested to know if you will have to change phone numbers as well when you move?
Stuart
It should be fine. I moved my parents from MPF LLU to Plusnet earlier this year and they kept their number. I asked for a Sim Provide (http://www.kitz.co.uk/isp/migration.htm#sim_provision).
The only person Ive heard who has lost their phone number recently is a neighbour of my parents - he moved from Sky to TT. Im not quite sure what went wrong, but he was also without broadband for a few weeks... he was just having a moan when I was round at my parents and I didnt really want to get involved nor all the details.
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Ive just logged into my parents account and this is the info from their ticket
Dear Mr xxx
We now have all the details needed in order to place a simultaneous broadband order.
This means that we should be able to get your broadband service working within 48 hours of your phone line being activated.
These types of orders can fail on occasion. If that is the case we will be in touch and your order for the broadband will be submitted once your phone line is active. This will then take a further 5 working days to complete.
For our information the reference numbers are:
Broadband: xxxxx
Phone: xxxxx
SIM Code: xxxxx
If you have any problems or concerns then please reply to this ticket at http://contactus.plus.net or you can give us a call on 0800 432 0200 or on 0345 140 0200.
Kind regards,
XXXXX: MPF line - Please action:
Call features: WlrVoiceMail,WlrVoiceMail,WlrVoiceMail
The phone number xxxxxxxxxxx can be retained.
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I have been somewhat concerned over leaving TalkTalk and going to A.N.Other due to the possible telephone number loss. Originally one had to insist that TalkTalk perform a "return to donor" with the telephone number -- which is to revert it back to Beattie -- and that was something which TalkTalk were unwilling to do.
Of course things may well have changed, so I will be interested in knowing exactly what happens when Eric migrates away from TalkTalk.
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I have been somewhat concerned over leaving TalkTalk and going to A.N.Other due to the possible telephone number loss. Originally one had to insist that TalkTalk perform a "return to donor" with the telephone number -- which is to revert it back to Beattie -- and that was something which TalkTalk were unwilling to do.
Of course things may well have changed, so I will be interested in knowing exactly what happens when Eric migrates away from TalkTalk.
It's a myth burakkucat have seen plenty of X TalkTalk customers even (LLU customers) migrate to other ISP's and they been able to keep the same Telephone number on another telephony provider.
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That is good to know. Thank you for sharing it. :)
However I still can not justify moving from TalkTalk or even taking the Openreach NGA GEA VDSL2 based service.
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we're actually paying less for plusnet fttc than we were for talktalk adsl2+
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Due to my line length, I can only achieve synchronisation at about 5 Mbps. So I have remained on the legacy TalkTalk service. My broadband service costs me £0-00 per month, as it is the "free up to 8 Mbps broadband with a telephone service" package. ;D
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My concern over possibly leaving TT is that so far I have been unable to find a package anywhere which gives me unlimited UK landline calls, line rental and ADSL2+ broadband for even the same as TT currently charge. However I know in the past TT have insisted that you cannot take your number with you, I know because I asked and they were adamant, I suppose things might have changed. I do also wonder if keeping the phone number might make it difficult to have a continuous service during any move. My other gripe against TT is that for FTTC (which I could get) only does a 40/2 service rather than a 40/10, I think my line would support faster than 40 but nowhere close to 80.
Stuart
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The return to donour was an issue a few years back, but this has now been mostly sorted.
There are a few cases that do go wrong, but if you had a bt number that was ported to LLU, then you should be able to bring it back to BT WLR without too much of a problem
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Interesting things emerging in this thread. Having never even had an LLU option, it hadn't dawned on me that some IPSs may be slower than others to offer an FTTC service, even after the exchange and cabinet are enabled. My exchange is not yet enabled, so I don't think I have any way to predict initial choice of ISPs? :'(
My plan remains, to transfer existing ADSL to Zen. If they are able to offer Fibre at my address when the if/when the exchange & cab' are ready, then all well and good. Otherwise, I guess, I can switch again as it's a one month contract.
Zen are probably not the cheapest, and the 50GB limit on the FTTC basic package could get swallowed up very quickly with Fibre, leading me to upgrade soon after. But I'm pinning my hopes on their reputation for service & support living up to promise - that makes up for so much!
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As far as I know, it's only the LLU suppliers who are subject to this delay, because a GEA link cable has to be installed in the exchange to link the fibre services to the ISP's equipment.
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As far as I know, it's only the LLU suppliers who are subject to this delay, because a GEA link cable has to be installed in the exchange to link the fibre services to the ISP's equipment.
Thank you Eric, that makes sense now. Never having had the option of LLU, I tend to be ignorant of its pros/cons and pitfalls. :)
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As far as I know, it's only the LLU suppliers who are subject to this delay, because a GEA link cable has to be installed in the exchange to link the fibre services to the ISP's equipment.
Thank you Eric, that makes sense now. Never having had the option of LLU, I tend to be ignorant of its pros/cons and pitfalls. :)
Join the club 7*muddle ;) have been waiting over 10 years for local loop unbundling at are wee exchange but no ISP has taken the plunge, so thank god for BT wholesale for looking after the rural customers 10 out of 10 BT "your my only hope" :thumbs:
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An amusing addendum to this. Yesterday I noticed three Openreach vans parked alongside PCP1 which I'm connected to, with several OR guys clustered round the open cabinet. I wandered over and asked them if this was part of the FTTC installation. They said it wasn't - they were repairing a telephone fault which was caused by the FTTC installation work. ;D Today the road is closed while they do more work on the same fault further down the road.
They were quite chatty, and they showed me the panel in the cabinet with the fibre link pairs connected. They didn't know exactly when the cabinet would go live with FTTC, but they understood that all the structural work had been completed.
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ooh... hopefully soon then :fingers:
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I've just ordered my FTTC upgrade, and the planned date is 25 September, although this may change.
Yesterday evening I saw an OR engineer working on another FTTC cabinet in the centre of the village, and I asked him if he knew when that cabinet would be live. He said it would be live when he finished working on it that evening, and it would take about 24 hours for ISPs to be notified. I asked him if he knew the status of the cabinet I'm connected to, and he said that he was fairly sure it would be the same.
So this evening I took a walk along to my cabinet and stuck my ear by the vents, and was rewarded by a humming sound. I came back home and ordered the upgrade, and it was accepted. :dance:
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Wey-hey !! Nice one. :)
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I've just ordered my FTTC upgrade, and the planned date is 25 September, although this may change.
Were you able to get any estimated line speeds from the ISP during the order process ?
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So this evening I took a walk along to my cabinet and stuck my ear by the vents, and was rewarded by a humming sound. I came back home and ordered the upgrade, and it was accepted. :dance:
Sounds very promisng.
I hope that was a very short walk, meaning you'll get great speeds.
Do you know where to get a connection stats monitoring program from? ;)
It would be interesting to see how your connection fares from possibly being the very first to be connected & as more users become connected over the coming months.
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Were you able to get any estimated line speeds from the ISP during the order process ?
The estimate was ~65 Mbps.
I hope that was a very short walk, meaning you'll get great speeds.
Do you know where to get a connection stats monitoring program from? ;)
It would be interesting to see how your connection fares from possibly being the very first to be connected & as more users become connected over the coming months.
Yes, it was a short walk, about 200 metres.
I have heard about these monitoring programs, but I don't know much about them.
I'm very probably the first one to order on my cab, but I may not be the first to get installed, because the first available day wasn't possible for me. I took the next day, so one or two might get there before me.
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A few quick questions from me. ;)
Have you already migrated away from TalkTalk and now have a Plusnet ADSL2+ service?
If so, what happened with your telephone number? Was it a problem for it to be "returned to donor"?
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Yes, I've moved from TT to Plusnet ADSL2+. It happened on August 29th. The telephone number was "returned to donor" without any issues.
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A few quick questions from me. ;)
Have you already migrated away from TalkTalk and now have a Plusnet ADSL2+ service?
That is interesting when I moved from TT ADSL Max (IP Stream) to BT ADSL Max during the 2 week switch over to VDSL2 my ADSL Max sync rose by 2 Mbps (4Mbps with TT and 6 Mbps with BT) ;)
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Yes, I've moved from TT to Plusnet ADSL2+. It happened on August 29th. The telephone number was "returned to donor" without any issues.
Ah, I see. Thank you. One final question -- was there any significant "down time" (for either telephony or broadband services)?
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Yes, I had no internet connection for most of the day of the changeover, and no telephone until ~ 15:00. The telephone switch was supposed to take place in the afternoon, but TalkTalk switched off my telephone service at about 03:00, so I woke up with no telephone and no internet.
The physical reconnection of the telephone line took place as scheduled at ~15:00, and I got a text message to say that the broadband changeover was complete at ~ 21:00. It may have been ready earlier, but Plusnet ask you not to connect the modem/router until you receive the notification that it's ready.
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Yay exciting :thumbs:
At 200m you should get the full 80/20 :)
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Could Eric's low estimate be because PN use the impacted rate for their estimates?
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Possibly.. My estimate from the BTw checker before I got FTTC said 'Up to 62.6' Mbps
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if its direct line routing and decent cabling you should be a comfy 80/20.
Possible caveats I guess are.
Been unlucky on the crosstalk lottery, but you should hopefully not have to worry about this in early days of service. Bear in mind I only held onto my 80+ attainable for 3 weeks :( and I was first on cabinet but I am probably one of the most unluckiest people in that regard. Even if this is the case tho it should still blow anything adsl can do out the water.
Having bad cabling like ali or thin copper may reduce speeds over the distance.
Possibility of indirect line routing.
Also distance from exchange to cabinet is a factor, it affects adsl power cutback, on my line its pretty brutal whilst kitz has hardly any as she is close to exchange, I estimated on my line its around 10-18mbit of lost sync speed for adsl power cutback. apparently tho its sort of mid to longish e-sides that suffer the most, if the e-side is really long the power cut back eases of again.
You should be good for an easy 80/20 tho.
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if its direct line routing and decent cabling you should be a comfy 80/20.
Possible caveats I guess are.
Been unlucky on the crosstalk lottery, but you should hopefully not have to worry about this in early days of service. Bear in mind I only held onto my 80+ attainable for 3 weeks :( and I was first on cabinet but I am probably one of the most unluckiest people in that regard. Even if this is the case tho it should still blow anything adsl can do out the water.
Having bad cabling like ali or thin copper may reduce speeds over the distance.
Possibility of indirect line routing.
Also distance from exchange to cabinet is a factor, it affects adsl power cutback, on my line its pretty brutal whilst kitz has hardly any as she is close to exchange, I estimated on my line its around 10-18mbit of lost sync speed for adsl power cutback. apparently tho its sort of mid to longish e-sides that suffer the most, if the e-side is really long the power cut back eases of again.
You should be good for an easy 80/20 tho.
Your estimate makes me guess approx 300-400m for actual line length.
Openreach support (yes they do exist although normally only for isp's) told me my line was just over 400m (I think cant find the email now), but today I was told its about 220m.
Possibly.. My estimate from the BTw checker before I got FTTC said 'Up to 62.6' Mbps
haha :0 yeah mine was 73 plusnet sign stage and 65.9 when I signed to BT infinity. These estimates I think try to take into account heavy crosstalk. Then later when an areas has enough customers I think they then feed live data into the system so the estimates change.
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The BTW checker estimates my speeds as:
Clean: Down 69.5 - 80, Up 20 - 20
Impacted: Down 58.4 - 80, Up 19 - 20
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Eric your going to spend less time waiting for your downloads to complete (11 times faster) if the host server is playing ball, it's going to improve your Internet productivity experience and I don't care what anyone says you can't do smooth HD streaming with 5Mbps well you can if you like the buffering wheel popping up every couple of minutes.
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HD streaming needs a minimum of 9.6 Meg to get best performance, according to one of our modern apprentices. They are the ones who go on all the latest training courses, get all the kit, the best job opportunities etc .....
Not knocking the lads and lasses here, just making the point that if anyone would have the info, they would. :)
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To be honest, HD streaming isn't high on my list of needs, but I do a lot of uploading as well as downloading some pretty big files, so the speed will certainly be welcome, although not essential.
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To be honest, HD streaming isn't high on my list of needs, but I do a lot of uploading as well as downloading some pretty big files, so the speed will certainly be welcome, although not essential.
HD film streaming not high on the list :o it was my first FTTC test benchmark ;D
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I am somewhat more like Eric in my requirements. I would far prefer a symmetric service that is stable and consistent; 8/8 Mbps would be purrfect for my usage. (Earlier today I had a mesured 5.02/0.94 Mbps throughput.)
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Well there is a reason SDSL is now obselete.
SDSL is symmetric with e.g. 2/2, but it be bad to say 80/20 is inferior to 2/2 as the 20mbit upload of vdsl2 is 10x the upload of SDSL.
I understand the consistency of course, VDSL is hugely variable and lines can swing instantly at any given random time. Vectoring aims to bring consistency to VDSL. On ADSL one could reasonably predict speed based on attenuation, I think thats way less reliable on VDSL due to the extremities of crosstalk.
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Having been looking at moving to Plusnet I have been musing as to whether FTTC is worth it over ADSL2+. Like Burakkucat my download speed requirement is not particularly high as although I do download large files occasionally (new Linux release and the odd Iplayer d/l) my use of streaming is pretty much non-existent. So although Plusnet suggest I could get 65/19 I would be happy with say 20/20 or even 15/10. My current ADSL service gives me a reliable 8700/1020 kbps and I find my upload is a bottleneck when updating my website. Currently if I do migrate it would be to the 38kbps service which would be only slightly more per month than my current ADSL service, I could not justify the 80/20 service on a cost basis. The thing I would really like from Plusnet would be self install though!
Stuart
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Plusnet do a 40/20 service which is cheaper than 80/20 but still has the high upload speed.
Like you I would have preferred self install, but I've already done all the necessary wiring including fitting an SSFP Mk 3, so I expect the installer just to test that it's working properly, without needing to change any of the wiring. After he/she is gone (or during the visit) I'll put in my own modem/router (a Billion 8800NL) and hopefully all will be sweetness and light.
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I'd love to pick your job up, Eric. It's what we term a 'Butty job' ............ cos' we'd have time to go and grab a sarnie and a brew, as all the work is more-or-less done. ;) ;D
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You're very welcome to come here and do the job - I might even provide the sarnie. ;D
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Ha ha ........... my i-Pop data (The tracking system), would have a field day reporting that little soiree to my gaffers !! I fear I'd find myself employed as Kitz's gardener, for the rest of eternity !! ;) ;D ;D
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;D
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;D
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Eric you have 9 days to go or 12960 minutes (samples left) before FTTC Day ;D
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I've just re-read your comments, Eric. If you've chosen the 'Self-install' package, you wont get an engineering visit. You shouldn't even receive a phone call from the engineer saying the migration has been performed. It categorically states on the job notes ........ 'DO NOT MAKE CONTACT WITH THE EU'.
So, if you notice your ADSL has gone down for no good reason, plug your new kit in and it should kick in ? :)
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Eric you have 9 days to go or 12960 minutes (samples left) before FTTC Day ;D
Do you think I'm not already counting down the minutes? ;D
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I've just re-read your comments, Eric. If you've chosen the 'Self-install' package, you wont get an engineering visit.
Thanks for the advice, but Plusnet don't offer a self-install option for the 80/20 service. Otherwise I would have happily chosen that option.
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Like you I would have preferred self install, but I've already done all the necessary wiring including fitting an SSFP Mk 3, so I expect the installer just to test that it's working properly, without needing to change any of the wiring. After he/she is gone (or during the visit) I'll put in my own modem/router (a Billion 8800NL) and hopefully all will be sweetness and light.
From one comment I've seen elsewhere it implied that Plusnet could be announcing self-install in October.
Stuart
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I've just re-read your comments, Eric. If you've chosen the 'Self-install' package, you wont get an engineering visit.
Thanks for the advice, but Plusnet don't offer a self-install option for the 80/20 service. Otherwise I would have happily chosen that option.
Sorry, my mistake. I sped-read a previous comment saying you would have preferred the self-install option and mistakenly took it be you were getting this option. Must pay more attention. :graduate:
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Must pay more attention
:oldman:
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:)
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I'm up and running, and it looks good:
Stats recorded 25 Sep 2014 15:17:26
DSLAM/MSAN type: BDCM:0xa415 / v0xa415
Modem/router firmware: AnnexA version - A2pv6F039g1.d24m
DSL mode: VDSL2
Status: Showtime
Uptime: 6 min 43 sec
Resyncs: 0 (since 25 Sep 2014 15:16:23)
Downstream Upstream
Line attenuation (dB): 13.4 0.0
Signal attenuation (dB):
Connection speed (kbps): 79987 19999
SNR margin (dB): 9.5 23.1
Power (dBm): 13.6 2.5
Interleave depth: 1 1
INP: 0 0
RSCorr/RS (%): N/A 0.0000
RSUnCorr/RS (%): N/A 0.0000
ES/hour: 0 0
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Nice one, do you have plenty of headroom on your attainable for the inevitable cross talk.
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The attainable values are currently showing as 38923 up, 92917 down.
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I notice that your still showing an adsl line in mydslwebstats. Do you now have a second line?
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Welcome aboard, Eric. :) :)
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I notice that your still showing an adsl line in mydslwebstats. Do you now have a second line?
No, I've only just fixed the bug in the test version of DSLstats which caused it to hang on VDSL2 connections. MyDSLWebStats is showing the correct stats now.
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Thank you BS :)
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Well done roseway your stats look impressive to me when using mydslstats
DS line rate :79987 US line rate: 19999 DS attainable :93287 US attainable 38927
You lucky boy ;)
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:)
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Your not using the HG612 modem by the looks of it
Modem/router firmware: AnnexA version - A2pv6F039g1.d24m
Which Modem/Router are you using ?
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It's a Billion 8800NL.
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(https://forum.kitz.co.uk/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emotionless.co.uk%2Femotes%2Fb%2Fbounce13.gif&hash=7b763a881dad1901e8326710f2dc4e9489ffddaa)
No going back now Eric. :congrats: I know how long youve suffered with a longish line on adsl.. so heres to life in the fast lane :thumbs:
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Curious kitteh needs to know . . .
Was the installation performed by a member of Black Sheep's flock or did you have to show a sub-contractor the correct way how to do it? ::)
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It was Mr Quinn. He seemed a bit bemused by the fact that he didn't have to do anything at my end of the line, but he was quite happy to go with the flow.
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Out of interest, I take it he still left you with an OR modem? If so which one?
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It was Mr Quinn. He seemed a bit bemused by the fact that he didn't have to do anything at my end of the line, but he was quite happy to go with the flow.
................. as would I. ;D
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I bet he was ecstatic at landing a job like Erics. For the contractors, time is money and the sooner they can get out the better. I bet he thought it was his lucky day :D
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Out of interest, I take it he still left you with an OR modem? If so which one?
I think that plusnet supply the modem/router directly, but when I ordered the upgrade I opted not to receive this. The guy didn't offer a modem and I didn't think to ask.
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What you still doing on the forum, Eric ?? You should be hosting a 20-man 'World of War-craft' battle, whilst downloading all the latest box-sets from SKY. ;) :)
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Plusnet shipped my router.. but the Quinn contractor dished out my modem.
I think they try to keep what they can.. he tried to walk off with my modified NTE5 which Id bought from clarity.. until I said hey I want that back please. :/
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Yes, as far as I'm aware and from personal experience, only we supply the VDSL Modem. :)
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heh.. so that will be one modem which can be flogged on ebay then? :lol:
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can the billion 8800 do bridge mode?
I would buy that zyxel that kitz likes if I can use it as only a modem.
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Well done Eric, hope to join these speeds one day ( it's all gone very quite on our Cab ).
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can the billion 8800 do bridge mode?
I would buy that zyxel that kitz likes if I can use it as only a modem.
That is what i am doing.
The Zyxel is replacing the OR Modem and I use an Asus RT-AC56U for all the rest, just plug the Asus into one of the Gigabit Ethernet ports on the Zyxel.
The idea was to use the Asus so that the modem NEVER needs to be touched and hence avoid DLM problems due to reboots or hangs etc.
Even if the ASUS has problems or hangs I can simply reboot and it does not touch the Zyxel.
I am also running the 'Asuswrt-Merlin' firmware on the ASUS which improves the functionality no end.
(See http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/forumdisplay.php?f=42 (http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/forumdisplay.php?f=42))
Someone else uses Asus Routers and 'Asuswrt-Merlin' and has mentioned it on kitz but I forget where.
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might have been me as I use asuswrt-merlin on a ac66 which I want to keep using as my router.
I ordered a billion now as kitz said the zyxel cant do bridge mode. Although I will have to wait a while as its out of stock.
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I ordered a billion now as kitz said the zyxel cant do bridge mode.
Did I? :-\ I cant recall saying that... although I may have said in the past Ive not tried it in bridge mode... because the main reason I bought the unit was to dispense with separate modem, router & switch. I wanted to declutter the desk and free up plug sockets.
There certainly is the option in the config to do so.
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haha ok well I will stick with the billion now anyway.
you think the zyxel makes a better modem than the billion?
les said the billion had lower error rates, but of course every line is different.
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Much of a muchness I suppose. The Billions seem to have a good reputation... but the one thing that made it unsuitable for my requirements is that it only has 1x GbE port and 3x 10/100 LAN. Because I wanted to get rid of my gigabit switch it wasnt a viable option.
The VMG8324 has more hardware ie 4GbE LAN ports & 1 GbE WAN (can be used as 5xGbE LAN). It also has 2x VoIP and 2 x USB ports... plus it also looks sexi on the desk :lol:
The Web GUI is one of the best Ive seen.. but there is so much in it that it can be confusing for the more novice type user. A lot of functions that would normally require CLI commands can be done straight from the webGUI. The downside is the webGUI appears to have a couple of bugs - ie the save function doesnt always stick first time for some people... and the login button can take a while to appear. It has its quirks, but then again all of the VDSL2 units seem to have some downsides and I dont think Ive heard of one yet that is 100% perfect. Now Ive set my Zyxel up how I want it.. I dont need to touch it so for me it just works.
Its fair to say that Les said he saw more errors with the ZyXel.. but its not anything that Ive noticed on my line when compared to the HG612. So I guess its one of those suck it and see things :(